Neither Can Live
by Truechinook
Summary: Just a thought on the outcome of the book, after reading the prophacy again. SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't read the 5th book. Please rr!


Okay, here's a little something to tide my GIAG readers over until the next chapter is posted. It is, I repeat, it is in its editing stages. The chapter has been written; I repeat the chapter has been written. It should be up soon fingers crossed.

This story is not foreshadowing for the GIAG timeline. I have my sequel already planned, and this really doesn't fit into. This is just something I had to write down. For those of you that are wondering what in the world GIAG is – it's a story over on , under 'truechinook'. I'd bring it to Portkey, but it won't really have any shippiness until the sequel (or maybe the end, depends on what my muse tells me).

Oh, and just so you all know – this is coming to you unbeta-ed. My one editor would be strongly against this story's ship, and I really didn't want to wait to post this, otherwise I never might.

And, as you all know, all the characters, setting, etc that you recognize is property of the worship-worthy J.K. Rowling. All I own is the plot.

So I'll quit babbling now, and let you read. And please, pretty please, review!!!

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for **neither can live while the other survives**…_ - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, page 741

She hadn't waited to hear the news. She knew it. She knew when Professor McGonagall entered their common room. She knew when she looked over each of them, using sheer force of will to keep from crying. She knew when her eyes settled on her and Ron, and slowly whispered, "I'm sorry".

And she knew when she was sitting at the window, watching the darkening sky, and suddenly felt as if a dozen knives had plunged themselves into her heart.

No one else could understand. They knew she was hurting, which is why they didn't stop her when she took off. But they could never understand just how much she hurt. Just how brutal the pain really was. No one could understand. Not Ron, not Ginny, not Professor McGonagall. Not ever Remus. They had lost their friend and their (sort-of) nephew. She had lost so much more.

Which is why she stood there, alone, on top of the highest hill. Below her she could see the lights of Hogsmeade, hear the cheers from both the village and Hogwarts. They were celebrating Voldemort's downfall. Only in the backs of their minds were they mourning _his_ death.

"Is this what you wanted?" She whispered to the night air. The wind was whipping around her, taunting her. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?" She screamed.

"All he ever did was try to make the world better! Would it have hurt so much to let him stay! Why couldn't he, for once, get to have a little bit of happiness, a little bit of peace! Why did you have to take him away! Away from this world, away from people who needed him, away from me! He never asked to be a part of this! He wanted to be a normal student! Why couldn't he have that! Why did you have to take away any of his chances! Why!

"Why did you have to keep the truth from him! Why couldn't you have told him the truth! You had him so convinced that the only way he could ever have a normal life was if he defeated Voldemort! You lied! You could have told him the truth, but instead you lied to him! You just led him to his death with no warning! He never got to graduate! He never got to win the Quidditch cup! He never got the chance to say goodbye! He never got to tell any of us how he felt! He never got to tell Remus how he thought of him as a father! Never got to tell Ron or any of the Weasleys how he thought of them as the family he never had! He never got to tell off the Dursleys, never got a chance to show them who he had become, regardless of what they had done to him!"

The tears were spilling into her eyes, flooding down her cheek. "We never got to be together. He told me that he loved me, that he has always loved me. I never got the chance to tell him that I loved him too. I never got the chance to tell him how much I loved him, how he meant the world to me, how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, only him. And he never knew. He never knew!

"How hard would it have been to prepare him? Sit him down, and confirm what he suspected! He knew, I knew, but we didn't believe it! Everyone told us otherwise! They all said that he just had to kill Voldemort, and then everything would be just how he wanted it! But you knew! You all knew! He deserved to know the truth! We deserved to know the truth!"

She collapsed to her knees, head buried into her arms, her sobs wracking her body. In all her years, in everything that's happened, she had never felt so sad. She had lost both of her parents, yet still didn't feel as utterly wretched, as completely lost, as she did at this very moment. He had always been there, to hold her, to comfort her. But now he wasn't, now he was gone.

For hours she just stayed there. On that hill, letting her torrent of tears wash over her. No one dared come, although some saw her. They knew that nothing they said or did would do anything. So they left her. Let her sit and cry and wallow until the sun, in all its miserable happiness, began to wash away the darkness, and strike the sky with its pink flares.

"Forever and always," Hermione whispered, praying with all her might that he heard her. "I will always love you, Harry."

Okay, big collective cry. Okay, a lot of you are probably wondering the deal behind his. For instance, why did I bold neither can live while the other survives at the top? Well, I was reading that quote, and it hit me (and yes, it did hurt ;)).

"_either must die at the hand of the other_" – either Harry or Voldemort has to kill the other for

"neither can live while the other survives" – Harry and Voldemort cannot live while one of them is still alive.

I know, confusing, right? Basically look at it this way – one of them has to kill the other, but both must die, for neither of them can live while one does.

Okay, lets try this with names – Harry must kill Voldemort, for neither of them can live so long as one of them is alive.

If you want to look at this even simpler, think of balance. The law of the universe dictates that all forces of good and evil must be balanced. Think of Voldemort as everything that is evil in this world, and then Harry becomes everything that is good. Should the predominant evil force disappear, the scales will be tipped, and the good force must also disappear to ensure balance.

Well, that's my thoughts at least. And I realize it's all a little odd – give me a break – I wrote this in 20 minutes, and actually just finished before I posted it.

Please read and review!!!


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